Hope to have a VBAC - 9 days till CS - discouraged

VikiT05

I have 9 days left till I'm 40 weeks. At 40 weeks I'm scheduled to have a CS if I don't go into labor.  If I do go into labor this will be a VBAC for me.  My first pregnancy was breach. I saw my midwife today and am only a 1 cm dilated.  If I was more dilated she would have stripped my membranes to encourage labor.

Both midwives in my group say to have lots of sex to encourage dilation and effacement. The problem is finding the time and having a husband with a low libido. They say to have "good sex" at least once a day.  I don't think this will happen and I know my husband is stressed over this. Talk about being put on the spot. We don't have the time, don't feel like doing it and now they say to do it 1-2 times a day?!?

I've been using primrose oil, raspberry leaf tea and nipple stimulation for the past 5 days or so.  All that has happened is my baby has dropped and my braxton hicks contractions have severely slowed. I really need some words of encouragement!  So don't want another CS and am feeling very depressed over the possibility.

Squirrel29

Is there any special reasoning for scheduling your cs at 40 weeks?  I know some docs / midwives have issues with going later but in an otherwise healthy pregnancy there is no reason to schedule it that early.  My doc didn't give me any deadlines and I went into labor on my own at 41 weeks 3 days and had a successful vbac so I've been there.  We only had sex once at the end of my pg and it wasn't exactly enjoyable and didn't lead to labor so I'm not really any help with regard to your actual question though..sorry!

nosoup4u

Squirrel29:

Is there any special reasoning for scheduling your cs at 40 weeks?  I know some docs / midwives have issues with going later but in an otherwise healthy pregnancy there is no reason to schedule it that early. 

Yep, this. I would push back on 40 weeks as the deadline, quite frankly. 

cchill01

I would push back on the 40 weeks and I would ask about some pitocin.  I went in for an induction at just 1cm, they gave me some pitocin, broke my water and 9 hours later DD was born.

But, either way, don't lose hope.  You still have 8 days!  Baby is dropping and you're having some BH, so those are all good signs.

IsaiahGirl

Ditto everyone else.  The docs were afraid my baby would be too big for a VBAC, so we scheduled a c-section.  At a week out, I was already 3 cm dilated and having contractions so my doc cancelled the c-section and scheduled an induction instead.  Didn't matter, though - she also stripped my membranes at that visit and I almost immediately went into labor.

Go walking.  Then ask about your progress and see what the docs think.  You've still got time! 

anchalmasako

Time is the best thing you can give yourself, in my opinion. Unless your doctor has specific reasons for taking baby out at 40 weeks, I'd try to push back the CS date.

I went into labor on my own 3 days after my due date. I thank god that I waited the extra three days! Good luck mama.

VikiT05

anchalmasako:

Time is the best thing you can give yourself, in my opinion. Unless your doctor has specific reasons for taking baby out at 40 weeks, I'd try to push back the CS date.

I went into labor on my own 3 days after my due date. I thank god that I waited the extra three days! Good luck mama.

 

Thank you for your good wishes.  Saw the midwife in my OB's office today.  She was surprised he didn't schedule me for a CS at 39 weeks. According to her the risk of uterine rupture goes up significantly after 40 weeks. I plan to look that one up. As of today I'm 1 cm and 50% effaced. She tried to sweep my membranes, but I was too tight.  The good news is that the baby is much further down than last week.  She said to keep doing what I've been doing, but she didn't sound too hopeful that I would go into labor and have a VBAC by this Friday.  I so don't want another CS.  

VikiT05

Sorry this is so long, but it has a happy ending :-)

 

My midwife checked me Monday morning to find that I was still 1 cm, but the baby was a bit lower. So I went home and pounded pounded the treadmill on an incline. I was frustrated and a bit depressed. All I had for lunch was ice cream and soda, which was not part of my normal diet, but I was feeling a bit down since my CS was scheduled for that Friday afternoon. I so did not want another CS. 

Around 5pm I started getting some discomfort that felt like a mixture of gas pains and braxton hicks. I had been having intermittent BH since December, and I did have all that ice cream, so both feelings weren't a surprise. It was storming out and our power was going on and off so I told my husband not to work late in case I went into labor.

By the time my husband got home the pains were more intense, but I could breathe through them. They were between 10 and 20 minutes apart.  My 2-year-old son must have known something was going on, because he just wanted to cuddle with me and watch TV.  He was such a good boy. My husband bathed our son and got him ready for bed as I continued to labor. At this point we were both starting to think it was labor, but they were too far apart and irregular to have us convinced.

Somewhere between 10 and 10:15 pm, as I was lying in bed next to my sleeping son watching TV.  I heard a "pa pop" from my vaginal area. I didn't have a gush or even a trickle, so I went to the bathroom to investigate.  I urinated and had a bowel movement.  I had blood tinged discharge vaginally. My midwife said that I might have some discharge like this because of the morning exam, so I didn't think that my water had broken. Every time I got up from the toilet, I felt strong pains in my abdomen where my CS scar was.  Now the pains were every 2-3 minutes and I was screaming through them. I had a few more bowel movements. By 11:15 I couldn't stand the pain.  My husband was convinced that this was labor.  We called our OB's office.  Our OB was on call (yeah!!) rather than some covering doctor that I hadn't met. He said "it sounds like she is in labor. I'll meet you at the hospital".  

My son slept through all of the yelling and excitement. We called my dad and he met us at my house to get my son, who continued to sleep even after getting dressed for the cold weather. My dad seemed more nervous than my husband, but then again my mom always had 1 hour labors and my dad was afraid I would give birth at any second.  It was so cold and icy out. I started shaking, but I wasn't sure if it was from being cold or the pain.

We arrived to the ER. The clerk tried to start my registration, but the Nurse saw me and directly wheeled me up to L&D. I'm so thankful for that. At L&D I continued to have the contractions 2-3 minutes apart. Everything stopped during a contraction. The nurse (Michele or Melissa) checked me for dilation.  At first she thought I was 4 cm dilated, but retracted that and said "no I'm sorry, your just very posterior. You are 2 cm dilated." I thought 2 cm dilated?!?  The CS still seemed to be a possibility. 

They had trouble getting my blood and starting an IV, so they had the anesthesiologist put a nice 18 G in my right hand. He got it on one shot.  As an ER nurse I saw several spots they could have went and felt like doing it myself, but I didn't want to step on anyone's toes. More admission questions between contractions and then finally the epidural.  THANK GOD FOR EPIDURALS!!  My nurse saw that I was upset with only being 2 cm. According to her sometimes the whole body tenses up when you are in pain, keeping the cervix from dilating.  She was right.  The epidural allowed me to be out of pain, take a nap, but to still feel the contractions.  From 2:30-3:30 I snoozed. Then the pain started to creep back up. By 4:30 my pain was an 8/10.  They checked my cervix and I was 4 cm.  Now I was more optimistic that the VBAC might actually happen. My wonderful night nurse left at 5 am.  I had another great nurse Carmen from 5-7 am.  This second nurse stayed by my side most of the time that she was there trying to get me out of any pain or discomfort. She agreed with the previous nurse that if I was out of pain I would most likely progress.  I was checked again at 6 am and my OB said "you won the lottery because you are now 9 cm dilated and she is much further down". I was so excited. I couldn't believe that I was having my baby girl without major surgery!  

I sent my husband home to get a few things.  Of course he forgot the video camera and the regular camera, so all we had was our cell phones.  Oh well.  Shift change came and time for another fantastic nurse.  This one was Grace.  She asked me about my birthing preferences.  I felt so unprepared because I refused to allow myself to think about a vaginal birth in case I ended up with a CS. I chose to have the birthing mirror (such an amazing site), to pull her up onto my chest and to cut her umbilical chord. 

The pushing began around 7:45 am. The news was on in the background and my OB made small talk with my husband between contractions.  I was amazed I was in NO pain, but I could feel the pressure and contractions. I could reach down and feel my baby's hair. I pushed with each contraction every 2-3 minutes. Grace was so encouraging. My OB stretched my cervix manually and with the last push he guided the baby up to my arms and onto my belly.  No episiotomy was used and I only had a small first degree tear with a few stitches. It was the best and most amazing experience of my life. My recovery has been so much better than with the CS.  I am so thankful everything went so well. I wouldn't have changed anything.  We are very blessed! 

 

Brianna Grace born 1/29 at 8:33 am 7lbs 2oz 20 inches